


Shadow x Vio - Heart on the Tide (Four Swords Modern Merman AU)

by SDRseries



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Lemon, Lots of it, M/M, Modern AU, Red just works in an aquarium, Smut, bottom!Vio, cuz my friend loves it, dominant!Shadow, even though he's stubborn af, marine biologist!Vio, merman, merman au, merman!Shadow, submissive!Vio, surfer!Blue, surfer!Green, top!Shadow
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-23
Updated: 2017-01-23
Packaged: 2018-09-19 10:27:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9436091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SDRseries/pseuds/SDRseries
Summary: Three months is all he has to write a scientific report on the mysterious sea creature haunting the local bay.  His unexpected discoveries lead him to the greatest find of the century, but trouble arises as his research progresses…right up to the point where he must question his very own morals of a seemingly harmless assignment.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story that my very good friend came up with but had no one to write it, so I, loving the idea so much, came along and decided to write it for her! All credit (well, most, I came up with some additional ideas X3) for the plot goes to her (I also have permission from her to post it here). I hope you guys enjoy it!

The rumbling growl of the engine shut off abruptly and the jangle of keys rang throughout the car as they were removed from behind the steering wheel.  The student marine biologist reached for his backpack sitting on the passenger seat next to him and double-checked the contents inside: notebook and writing stationery, small waterproof flashlight, waterproof camera, swim shorts and snorkel mask, towel, small sample containers, and water bottle.

 _Good, everything’s there,_ he thought as he closed the zipper.  He strapped the bag to his back and pushed open the door, stepping out into the fresh, salty breeze of the morning ocean air.  After shutting the door behind him, he proceeded to make his way round to the trunk so he could fish for the article provided to him when he was given this assignment.  It was printed by the local newspaper over a decade ago, and the issue still hadn’t been resolved.  His trainers weren’t expecting _him_ to actually _solve_ it; they just wanted him to find as much evidence as he could and write a report on it before the deadline in three months.  He wasn’t sure how he could with the little amount that professional scientists and biologists had collected ever since the rumour, but oh well.  As long as he had something to turn in. 

He slid the article out from underneath a bag of snacks he’d eat later and firmly grasped it in one of his hands, quietly reading it aloud to himself while he closed the trunk door, locked the car, and began making his way down to the docks.

“ _‘MYSTERIOUS “SHADOW” SPOTTED IN MAHARBY BAY FRIGHTENS LOCALS._

“ _‘On the fourteenth of February this year, a local fisherman reported seeing a large silhouette swim past his boat and then promptly disappear as soon as it arrived.  “Whatever it was, it was the fastest thing I’d seen in my life, and possibly the largest, too,” he said.  Since then, multiple reports had been coming in from both fishermen and swimmers alike even today.  The shadow is often seen frequently during the mornings and afternoons and has been estimated to be around seven to eight feet, roughly the size of a bottlenose dolphin – exactly what witnesses are claiming it to be.  However, other recent reports have been coming in about a decrease in catches and remnants of fish and crustaceans littering the bay, leading experts to believe that a shark is the cause.  Despite this, marine biologist Kelly Sceptingham says it could be something else entirely.  “A single shark usually isn’t the cause of a mass decrease in the population of other ocean life, and there are no species that currently exist to our knowledge that casually swim as fast as this shadow has been.  It is unlikely a dolphin either due to this creature being able to thrive in consistently-changing water temperatures, and dolphins are social animals who migrate as well.  No solitary dolphin in the wild would stay in one location for long.  My best guess is that we have a whole new species of animal that we’re dealing with.”  Marine experts and divers from across America are already beginning to gather in attempt to study the creature, but as of yet, no progress has been made.’_  

“To think that this was written over ten years ago and this thing is still being sighted with no details on what it actually is yet…” he added, stopping his reading since the article only rambled on from there.  Besides, he already had all of what he needed to know: where the creature was spotted, how big it was, when it appeared, and roughly how fast it was.  “Well then, let’s find out what you are…” he continued, beginning his descent down the stone stairs that led to the docks.  “Or, at least try to.”

 

\---

 

The blonde kept his icy-blue eyes trained on the small rental boat that wasn’t too far away now.  His marine biology course had paid the expenses for it, so money was no object and he could research freely.  He’d also made sure he rented one that he could captain himself; all he wanted was peace and quiet during his assignment without any distractions. 

The slowly rising sun reflected on the calm morning sea like the surface of a mirror, bringing with it a soft sheet of pink and light blue to clothe the sky.  The student didn’t usually like having to get up earlier than he was used to, but he only had two windows during the day to try and spot this thing and only two locations it was sighted at: in the morning in the bay, and in the afternoon at the beach.  Other than that, this thing never showed up when the sun was highest.

 _Hmm, that’s a good point, actually,_ he thought to himself.  _If this creature only shows during daylight hours in the mornings and afternoons, maybe it’s a nocturnal animal?  That would explain its odd behaviour and why nobody has been able to catch it yet, because it’s camouflaging itself under the cover of night and most likely migrating to and from its home when the sun is over the horizon.  If that’s the case, then all I have to do is find out where it stays during the day!_   His excitement ushered him into the boat quicker, and he hurriedly started the engine and guided it past the dock and into the bay.

The water had mostly fishing boats out on its surface during the early hours, which was possibly another reason why so many fishermen had caught sight of the shadow rather than swimmers, because few people were out on the sand in the late afternoon.

The blonde steered the boat somewhat in the middle of the bay and then silenced the engine, letting it drift quietly while he prepared his camera.  After checking that it had full charge and an SD card, he set it aside while he dug out his book to take notes on his thoughts earlier about the animal being nocturnal.  He soon looked up from his work upon another boat’s engine growling past him, making him slightly peeved that the noise could possibly scare the shadow creature away.  The boat had a few fishermen on board with their rods lined up at the back, cast and waiting for the next big bite.  _Ah, so these guys are just hobbyist anglers,_ he told himself.  He was about to ignore them when one suddenly started calling out to him.

“Oi!  Kid!” the bloke shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth.

 _Ugh, please don’t be one of those idiots who’ll tell me to get out of the way…_   “Yeah?” he called back.

“I’m gonna take a wild guess an’ say that you’re tryin’ to find the mysterious shadow in the bay, right?”

“Yes, I am.”

The man chuckled.  “He’s our own little loch ness monster, ain’t he?  You should give up while ya can, kid!  He hasn’t ever been seen in the flesh an’ my friends an’ I have been fishing in these waters for years.  We ain’t ever seen nothin’.”

The blonde sighed.  “Unfortunately, I can’t just ‘give up’.  I’m a marine biologist student whose recent assignment is to gather evidence and write a report.  I don’t necessarily have to uncover it.”

“You’re just gonna have to write it off as a myth then, kid.  The ocean plays tricks on people all the time – there are always shadows in the water, both big an’ small, an’ as soon as one person says something, suddenly everyone’s claiming to see it.  It’s just like with every oceanic myth out there: mermaids, sirens, sea serpents, water gods, n’ the like.  Every rumour’s gotta start from somewhere, but that don’t mean it really exists.”

The nineteen year-old sighed.  “I’m aware that these people are most likely just seeing things and making assumptions.  I don’t care whether it’s real or fake or just an ordinary sea creature; all I have to do is provide some proof to what I believe it is.  Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have research to do.”  He ignored any further comments made by the angler and his friends – he was far too fed up with them already – and focused on finishing his notes until they left.

 

\---

 

The blonde wasn’t sure how long he’d been staring at the water.  The sun was close to being too high in the sky by now and he still hadn’t seen anything.  Perhaps he’d missed it?  Or maybe it only appeared on certain days?

Either way, he was sure he was wasting his time by now.  The bay was huge and his boat was tiny; of course it was incredibly unlikely he’d see the shadow. _Oh well.  I might as well just make the best of this and tour the bay a little,_ he thought, revving up the engine again and gently cruising along the water.  The fishing boats were beginning to move further out into the open ocean, so that left him with more space to roam without getting too close.  He gazed back to the bay and watched the seagulls flit about the docks as people began appearing on them with food and fish bait ready for fishing.  Just beyond the docks was the small town of Maharby that he’d just recently moved into so he could take his marine bio courses – it wasn’t big it but had plenty of things to see and do, and he loved that it was so close to the water.

The bay made up the front area of what ocean was accessible, and just to the right was the long, sandy beach that stretched out for quite a way until it hit the cliffs where there was nothing but rock.  The tides there were popular among surfers and you would usually see quite a large number of them out on the water every day.  Two of the blonde’s three new friends were surfers themselves, and they were pretty impressive too.  His third friend had just recently graduated from high school and was working in the small aquarium somewhere in Maharby as one of the veterinarians, taking care of any animals that were too unhealthy to be on display.  The blonde hadn’t visited the aquarium yet, but he wanted to do so soon – he’d heard from his friend that it was going to be expanded in a couple of weeks thanks to some generous and unexpected donation funds, and it also meant a whole lot more marine life for the exhibits.  It would be a good place for him to study.  He could maybe visit it sometime in the next few days or –

“ACK!” the student cried out as the boat suddenly lurched forward upon an unknown impact.  He immediately shut off the engine and darted to look over the edge.  “Oh shit…  _Please_ tell me I didn’t just hit something!”  It was unlikely that there were rocks jutting out this far, so he’d never forgive himself if he hit a shark or a dolphin or any other form of marine life.  He kept his eyes strained on the water, trying to see in for whatever he’d hit until he finally saw it.

Or rather, he saw what had hit _him_.

The student froze as the dark shape slowly shifted about in the space beneath him, obviously trying to recover from the impact.  The difference between the blotch of blackness that floated a couple of feet below and the other dark patches that rolled along the surface was far too differential and easily recognizable to be just a trick of the eyes, and he wasn’t sure whether to be relived or concerned that he wasn’t just seeing things.  His heart raced and his blood ran cold as he watched the terrifying and eerie silhouette move right in front him, stretching and twisting like a writhing snake.  It was no wonder why people were so terrified of unidentifiable things they saw underwater.  He refused to remove his gaze from the creature, his statue-like posture unmoving, and waited for any possible movement that he may have to react to.  The dark spot gradually circled around his boat once before suddenly darting off in the direction of the beach, making him release the breath he didn’t realise he was holding, and that was when he knew for certain what he’d just witnessed.

The infamous “shadow” of Maharby Bay.

 

\---

 

The teenager couldn’t get the rental boat back to the docks quick enough.  Hell, he almost crashed the thing just trying to park it, and he nearly skinned one of his shins on the edge of the boat when he attempted to get out.  His backpack bounced violently on his shoulders as he made a mad dash for his car; he needed to drive round to the beach ASAP.  There was no mistaking that the shadow was headed towards it, and if he was correct in assuming that the creature was nocturnal, then it _had_ to sleep somewhere nearby.  The beach had nowhere quiet, so the only places close enough were the rock pools beside the cliff, and right now it was a matter of just getting down there.

By the time he reached his vehicle and drove down to the beach’s carpark, almost a full half-hour had passed, and it would probably take him another just to walk down to the rocks.  His bare feet hit the white sand of the beach which made loud _schuffs_ as he ran, kicking up the minuscule grains into the breeze.  He carried himself over to the wet sand to make it easier to travel on, letting the slowly gliding tide flow over his feet to allow the cool touch of the water to calm his burning heels and toes.  However, he wasn’t the type to exercise often, so exerting such a huge amount of energy so suddenly made him grow tired quickly and he soon had to slow to a walk.  He kept his eyes focused on the end of the beach where his destination was to prevent his rapid pants from forcing him into stopping to catch his breath, but another distraction in the form of two running figures carrying surfboards under their arms only initiated the inevitable. 

“Hey!” the taller of the two called as they ran up to him.  “So, the bookworm’s finally out of the library, eh?” he said as he came to a stop.

“What’s the rush for?  You look _way_ out of breath,” the other said, his cerulean eyes filled with concern.

The blonde sighed.  “Hello, Blue.  Green,” he greeted.  His two surfer friends were brothers, and even though they weren’t twins, they looked far too alike to not be.  They both had golden blonde hair that still stuck out even when wet and their eyes rivaled the colour of the open ocean.  Because they rode the waves almost every day and practically lived on the beach, they were well-built and tanned, which made the marine bio student severely confused as to why they were still single.  Although, Green apparently had this thing for a girl he met recently, so he supposed that there was that.  Blue, on the other hand, didn’t seem interested in a relationship at all.  _Too much love for that board of his_ , he thought, snickering to himself. 

“Well?” Green persisted.

“I was given an assignment from my course to collect evidence and write a report on the ‘shadow’ that’s been sighted in the bay for over a decade,” the student explained.

“Seriously, dude?” Blue scoffed.  “Everyone knows it’s just a myth.”

“Apparently not.”

Blue and Green just looked at him and blinked, their faces completely blank.

“I know you probably won’t believe me, but just go with me on this, okay?  This morning I was out on a small rental boat trying to see if this ‘shadow’ would make its infamous appearance out in the bay during the mornings like the article that was written all those years ago said.  I can’t remember how long I was out there, but just as I was about to give up, something rammed into my boat.  I’ll let you take a wild guess at what I saw.”

The two surfers were silent for a moment before Blue burst out laughing.  However, he stopped when he realised that Green wasn’t doing the same.

“Oh…  You’re not kidding…” Blue then said.

“Of course I’m not kidding!” the tired-out teen shouted.  “I even saw it for at least a good full ten seconds before it charged off in this direction.”

“Holy shit, dude!”

“So you’re off to go after it?” Green asked.

The student nodded and said he was in a hurry to get there.

“Yo, can we come with you?  I so wanna see this thing!” Blue remarked, but his friend only shook his head.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t risk bringing other people with me.  I need things to be perfectly quiet and done my way, so idiots like you two trailing along behind me won’t do much good at all.”

Blue gritted his teeth and furrowed his eyebrows.  The student had to resist the smirk that always rose from his amusement of teasing the hot-head. 

Before Blue could say anything, Green stepped forward.  “That’s okay, we understand.  Just let us know what you find, okay?  And stay safe!”

His friend nodded and turned to leave.  “Thanks, Green, and I will!”

 

\---

 

The nineteen year-old sighed as he was finally alone and at his destination.  The only sounds present were the cawing of seagulls soaring overhead and the gentle crash of the waves as they lapped lazily over the rocks.  The rock pools themselves didn’t start appearing until a little further in, and they were hidden behind an outcropping that you had to climb over to get to them.  It made the perfect hang-out spot, now that the blonde thought about it.

He approached the large rocks and cautiously scaled them, placing a foot gently on each foothold to test its stability before proceeding to climb.  He was wondering whether or not to get his shoes out from his backpack once he was over, but he decided that he wanted to see what the terrain would be like first. 

After a few minutes of careful climbing, his head finally peeked over the top of the highest rock and he was able to catch a glimpse of the whole layout of the rock pools right up until they reached the cliff.  He grinned at the sight and eagerly made his way down, the place already mapped out in his head for his day of exploration.

The sea breeze was beginning to pick up as the day developed, the wind whipping around the student’s hair as he traversed the rocks.  He often had to keep brushing his bangs away from his eyes and spitting his long sideburns out of his mouth whenever the gust was against him.  With a huff, he put up with the wind’s attempts to annoy him and kept close to the rocks nearest the sea, looking for any possible entrances large enough for a marine animal to access the pools.  His feet were fine on the rocks and so he didn’t need his shoes, but he still thought it a good decision to get his camera out from his bag anyway just in case he saw something that needed documenting.  He knelt down and removed the backpack from his shoulders, fiddling with the zips and then shuffling through the items.  He finally dug out his camera and switched it on before adjusting the settings so that it was ready to capture anything quickly.  After doing up the zips and placing the bag back over his back, he stood up and continued his set path.

While he knew that he was supposed to find where the “shadow” went as soon as possible, he couldn’t help but be distracted by things that he spotted in the smaller pools.  He was an avid shell-collector just like anyone else who was fascinated by the ocean, and because very few people came through here, there were many, many rare shells left to find.  In mere minutes he’d filled one of his sample containers with shells that he’d clean and display later, including a few cowrie shells which were his favourites.  It was by this point that he decided to change out of his normal clothing into his swim shorts because the pools were beginning to get deeper, and the last thing he wanted to do was risk more of his wardrobe shrinking from the sea water.

 

\---

 

A little later when he had arrived at the deepest pool he’d found, he was currently kneeling down in the water, the surface level to his chest, scrounging around in the sand with his hands for anything valuable.  There didn’t seem to be much in this one surprisingly, and he was about to give up when his knee suddenly scraped against something sharp.  Letting a small “ouch” escape his lips, he shuffled backwards until he could grasp whatever hurt him and lifted it out of the water.

“EEK!” he exclaimed, immediately tossing the item aside in shock and disgust.  What he’d discovered was a half-eaten fish, the skeleton making up a majority of what was visible and was most likely what his knee had stepped on.  He took a few moments to process what had just happened, and that was when he saw it.  He had no clue how he didn’t notice the dozens of scattered fish and crustacean carcasses carelessly lying about the area, either in the water or dotted alongside the rocks before.  Whatever the “shadow” creature was, he was now one-hundred percent certain that it was nearby.

 With shaking legs (from excitement or nerves, he didn’t know), he slowly stood up and retrieved his bag from where he’d put it before entering the pool.  He got out of the water and back onto the rocks, following the trail of fish corpses to where they were furthest away from the pool.  He climbed the outcrop that lay beyond it and at last came to what he’d been looking for.

He gazed down at the large cavity where the sand and water from the ocean intruded, drifting all the way down the split in the rocks until it came to a stop.  The gap was at least thirteen feet wide and roughly thirty feet long, more than plenty of enough space for a large marine animal to move about.  Several smaller rocks protruded out from the sandy floor of the gap, but they were spaced out evenly which still left adequate room. 

Leaving his backpack at the top, the student carefully made his way down into the channel, his feet eventually hitting the sand and the tide reaching halfway up to his shins.  The sand rose like a hill in the centre, but not high enough for the water to be unable to reach the other side.

The blonde made his way to where the sand dipped down again; there was a fairly large body of water that had collected here between the rise in the sand and the unexpectedly high rockface.  He waded into the pool and was pleased to find that the ground gradually leveled out instead of continuously dipping down and around like a bowl.  However, the teen looked around inside the water and couldn’t see anything of significance, so where was the “shadow”?  Had it already left?

 _There must be something I’ve missed…_ he thought to himself, turning around to look back at the miniature sand-hill.  It was then that he noticed his most valuable evidence thus far embedded into the sand like a criminal’s footprints in the dirt.

Drag tracks.

And they looked recent.

 _Very_ recent.

He could tell immediately that the creature had definitely been here, but he could also tell from the way the sand dipped around the tracks that it _had not left yet._   It had dragged itself over the sand and into the pool, but then to _where_ , exactly?  He stepped closer to the tracks to take a photo and also examine just how it moved.

This was definitely the most bizarre tracking movement he’d ever seen.  From what he could tell judging by the way the sand suddenly looked to have been thrown out from the sides, the creature seemed to have…limbs?  Was it a new gigantic species of walking fish?  Or…  Surely it wasn’t some form of ocean reptile similar to a crocodile or alligator?

Either way, no matter what it was, it had slid down into the water and gone somewhere.  There _was_ the possibility of burrowing down, but considering the chance of the creature choosing this one particular spot to do so in made the idea entirely implausible.  The conclusion?  There _had_ to be something else.

He turned around and faced the water once again, leaving the camera dangling from the strap around his neck.  This time he looked a little harder, keeping his gaze focused in one spot until he was positive that there was nothing there.  It seemed that all but the rocking of the tides had gone silent as he concentrated, almost as if the world around him was anticipating the result of his find just as much as he was.  He was _so close_ to discovering what the “shadow” that had been creeping around in the waters of Maharby Bay for years was!

The teenager froze.  At first he thought it might have been a trick of the eyes on the small movements of the water; a tiny flicker that had skittered from the corner of his sight.  He edged closer to the rocks, leaning down to get a better look at where he’d seen the disturbance.

He couldn’t believe he’d missed this.

Hiding just beneath the surface of the water disguised amongst the drab grey of the rocks was a large fissure big enough to squeeze through. 

Doing his best to keep his composure and maintain his anxious excitement, he shimmied forward and got as close as he possibly could to the water until his chin skimmed the surface.  It was there that he could confirm that he’d definitely seen something move, and that something came in the form of the biggest tail fluke that the student had seen in his life.  It was easily a little over three feet across and was a transparent purple in colouration, the edge of the fin curving into three wavy spikes on either side.  This was DEFINITELY not a reptile. 

The tail was resting just inside the fissure within arm’s reach, and although the blonde wasn’t going to risk going inside without proper equipment, he wanted to at least see if he could persuade it out so he could photograph it.  With slow and cautious movements, he gently guided his hand forward until he felt the cool touch of the fin beneath his fingers.  He gradually began to add more pressure so he could feel the texture, which he soon was able to determine that it was no different to any regular fish, but it was definitely thicker, sturdier, and less fragile – this tail was certainly built for powering the fish through the water.  Now was the time to attempt to usher it out of its hidey-hole. 

He gingerly reached further inside for the base of the fluke, trying to feel for the scales that belonged to its body. 

But before he could even blink, the tail disappeared from beneath his hand within and the student sat there for several moments trying to register that the fish was gone.

 

\---

 

All the teenager remembered from that point on was the unexpected thrash of water that erupted from the fissure as the fish burst out from it, hissing violently as he desperately scrambled up the sand, using his hands and feet to scoot backwards.

The only thing he could do from then on was stare.

Poised in front of him with its black tail raised threateningly, lips pulled back to bare razor sharp teeth as it growled, thick, muscular arms to hold its body up, ghostly grey skin coating its whole upper half, and piercing blue gaze that glared daggers at him was none other than a beast of pirate legends thought only to be a myth.

Except that myth was now real.  Right there, lying in front of him.

However, the student was given no time to process his flurry of thoughts and emotions as the beast launched itself at him, clawed fingers outstretched and mouth opened wide ready to tear right into the blonde’s flesh.  Upon instinct the teenager flexed out a leg and kicked the creature upside the chin, stalling and temporarily stunning it long enough for him to frantically scurry out of its reach towards the rocks where he’d come from.

Never in his life had his adrenaline been on such a rush, but right now he was thankful for the extra boost of energy it gave him to scramble up the rocks in his utterly panic-stricken state.  He reached the top and grabbed his bag, slipping it over his arms and preparing himself to run.  That was, until he remembered that the thing chasing him didn’t have legs and was most likely heavily weighed down by that thick tail it bore.  He turned around and gazed back down into the gap, surprised to find the giant fish already halfway to the sea, which meant only one thing: it was retreating.  And the teenager needed photo evidence.

Realising that his chance was literally slipping away, he hopped back down and immediately the animal snapped around to look at him and angrily produced the most inhuman screech before turning back to the ocean – the sheer sound that had just come from its throat alone made the teen visibly cringe and tempted to cover his ears. 

He quickly fumbled with the camera, suddenly remembering that he’d left it on this whole time and praying to whoever was listening that it wasn’t dead.  As if by some miracle, it had enough charge left and he wasted no time in pointing the lens directly at the fleeing half-fish.  It scooted straight into the tide and made an instant dive just as the camera’s shutter went off, the vanishing tail the only visible thing left of what the teenager had just witnessed captured in a single image, and he slowly lowered camera while he gazed at the empty ocean.

This time, it really was gone, and it wasn’t coming back.

 

\---

 

The walk back to the car was nonexistent in his memory.  His mind was at an absolute blank as he sat down in the driver’s seat, shut the door, and turned on the ignition.  He sat there for a good several minutes, staring at the wheel while he mentally clawed at his skull for answers to all of his questions.

What he’d seen shouldn’t exist.  It just _couldn’t_ exist.  Something like that was physically impossible and went against all logic of science and biology.  Yet he’d seen it right in front of his very own eyes, and long enough to convince himself that he wasn’t hallucinating.  Hell, it almost _killed_ him!  As long as he could physically touch it, it was real alright.

However, he was still confused as to how such a thing had evaded all human contact until now.

_Unless no one had ever lived to tell the tale…_

The teen shook his head once the shiver from that hideous thought crawled down his spine.  It was entirely possible that the creature had killed people before, but there was no way to be certain unless there was proof that there were bodies found or reports of the missing.  He wanted to ask around, but then again, it would probably sound strange and suspicious.  He couldn’t exactly say he was a reporter; he’d already told several people that he was just a marine bio student.

Still, his curiosity greatly overwhelmed his fear, and if no one could answer his questions, then he’d just have to do it himself.  If it was still there the next day, he’d continue to study it – but from a safe distance.  No _way_ was he about to risk his life again.  Or should he?  He was pretty certain that he’d just made the discovery of the century, and the world deserved to know that at least one myth in the world wasn’t really a myth.  Although, first, there was the problem of his assignment and what exactly he was going to turn in.  He’d actually discovered what the “shadow” was now, but…

Just how on Earth was he supposed to write a scientifically proven report on a _merman_?

**Author's Note:**

> Just to clarify: Maharby Bay is fictional. It's not a real place. XD


End file.
